


Reunion at Dawn

by AceTrainerHope



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, G/T, Gen, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth, One Shot, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), giant!Dimitri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 07:31:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21032543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceTrainerHope/pseuds/AceTrainerHope
Summary: After their five-year slumber, Byleth has returned to Garreg Mach to fulfill the promise they made to their students. However, upon arriving, they soon discover that one student in particular has gone through some very drastic changes since they last saw him.





	Reunion at Dawn

With each step that Byleth took through the main entrance, their footfalls echoed and resonated through the large corridor. The sound filled the vast chamber, making it seem so much louder than it actually was.

Perhaps that was also because it was the _ only _ sound, save for the occasional creaking of centuries-old woodwork. 

Dawn’s faint light barely managed to sneak in through the windows overhead, and the sconces on the walls were unlit, leaving visibility quite poor. Not that there was all that much to see in the first place. Just about every surface was covered in a thick layer of dust, while every little corner seemed to house countless cobwebs. 

Seeing the sorry state of their former home, it was getting much harder for Byleth to deny that five whole years really_ had _passed.

Garreg Mach had seen better days, that was for sure.

Byleth let out a sigh.

No use reminiscing. And no use lingering in an obviously long-abandoned room. If they were going to find their beloved students, they would need to venture deeper inside.

A similar sight greeted the mint-haired mercenary as they moved on to the reception hall, barring the addition of furniture in this particular area. Or… what _ used to _ be furniture, in some cases. A number of tables and benches lay scattered about haphazardly, all in various states of disrepair—ranging from overturned and scuffed to broken and beyond salvaging. 

Again, Byleth didn’t stay long.

They passed through a smaller corridor at the back of the room, and from there, something finally managed to catch their eye. 

The double doors that led out toward the cathedral were slightly ajar, allowing a bit more light to creep inside. Something was propping them open. 

As Byleth approached, they soon realized that it was an arm, laying right across the threshold. 

Their breath caught in their throat for a brief moment as they slowly opened one of the doors all the way, revealing the body. Perhaps it was selfish, but they were honestly relieved when they immediately recognized the attire of an Imperial soldier, and it was no one they knew personally.

But that relief was short-lived.

Just a few feet away, Byleth spotted another body—another Imperial soldier. 

And then another.

_ And another. _

More than half a dozen corpses formed a morbid trail across the bridge.

Taking in such an ominous sight, Byleth recalled the warning from the villager who had pulled them out of the river—rumors of a terrible monster that had taken up residence inside the monastery alongside the band of thieves running amok.

Byleth had assumed that such rumors were likely describing a demonic beast, or something of that nature, but… 

As they dared to make their way out onto the bridge, briefly examining each body they passed, there were no signs of any teeth or claw marks. Nothing that would indicate blows from a blade, either.

In fact, it… it almost looked like… 

Goddess, it looked like just about every single bone in their bodies had been broken. Crushed to death maybe? But that hardly made any sense. It wasn’t like any of them were trapped under any piles of rubble—they were just laying out in the open.

What else could’ve caused this kind of damage, though?

Well, only one way to find out… 

Steeling their nerves, Byleth continued to follow the trail, keeping a hand rested on the hilt of their sword the entire time. 

Thankfully, the heavy iron gate that often barred the cathedral’s entrance had been left open, making Byleth’s entry an easier one. They highly doubted that there would be anyone around to raise it for them, after all, and the last thing they wanted to do was waste precious time trying to figure out how to do it themself. 

Climbing the front steps, they tried to make as little sound as possible, treading with care so that they hopefully wouldn’t alert anyone—or any_ thing _—to their presence.

Upon actually stepping foot inside the cathedral, it soon became clear that this area must’ve been hit the hardest during the Empire’s siege. A large portion of the ceiling had collapsed, leaving an enormous pile of stone and wood where the main altar once stood. 

Even such devastating damage wouldn’t hold Byleth’s attention for long, though.

Not after they caught sight of someone—an unmistakably human form—seated near all that rubble and debris. 

Unmistakably human, save for one important detail.

Whoever this person was, he was easily a good thirty or forty feet tall. 

A giant. There was _ a giant _ sitting in the cathedral.

Byleth thought they were prepared for just about anything… but this? This was unreal. 

Although… they supposed that it _ did _ explain how all of those soldiers had died. A being that large was probably more than capable of squeezing the life out of someone.

Having come to a standstill beside one of the many support columns, Byleth couldn’t help but take in every detail of the giant’s features.

His shoulder-length hair was blond and slightly unkempt, hiding most of his face. Then there was his clothing; a long dark blue cloak draped over onyx armor, accented with black and white furs around the collar. It looked ragged and well-worn, with numerous patches of dirt staining the material. 

With the way he was sitting slumped against the wall, head drooped and eyes closed, he looked almost as dead as the soldiers outside.

Byleth couldn’t quite put their finger on it, but…

Something about this mountain of a man seemed… vaguely familiar.

Maybe that was part of the reason why they soon found themself tentatively moving closer. That, and they were simply trying to get a better look, too. As far as Byleth could tell, he seemed to be unconscious, or just asleep at the very least. Which was why they were even daring something so risky in the first place.

If the giant had been awake, then—

Byleth nearly let out a startled scream as that massive form suddenly sprang to life, lunging for them with a speed that seemed impossible for someone so huge. 

With hardly any time to react, the giant’s fist swiftly closed in around their comparatively tiny body, leaving only their head and shoulders free as they were hoisted into the air. His grip was far, _ far _ too tight for Byleth’s liking, making it nearly impossible to breathe—and even harder to speak.

Try as they might, any desperate attempts at struggling yielded no results. 

The giant didn’t have any trouble speaking, though. His voice was gruff and practically oozing hatred.

“You vermin just never learn, do y—?”

He cut himself off mid-sentence as Byleth looked up to meet his gaze. 

A single eye stared back at them, the other still closed and partially obscured by a few stray locks of hair. Such a piercing shade of icy blue… Byleth recognized it almost immediately. 

But there was no way. 

It couldn’t be— 

The crushing pressure around Byleth’s body vanished in an instant, sending them plummeting back down to the floor below.

They took in a loud gasp, both from surprise and from trying to get sweet air into their lungs.

Only to have it knocked right out of them again as their back collided with the ground. 

It was a shock to their system, for sure, but they were grateful that the fall hadn’t injured them_ too _ terribly. If anything, they were just left stunned and incredibly winded for a few moments. Maybe they’d get some bruises later, but if that was the worst of it, the young mercenary certainly wouldn’t complain.

“You… you’re actually alive… ” _ Dimitri _murmured in a tone that was much softer than the one he’d used before, brimming with disbelief instead of scorn. 

He started reaching for Byleth soon after he finished speaking, one hand slowly edging its way underneath their prone form.

Still too stunned to move, all Byleth could really do was brace themself as Dimitri lifted them up once more. 

Even if his grip wasn’t dangerously tight this time around, and Byleth was simply just laying in the palm of his hand, they couldn’t help but go rigid. It was almost entirely reflexive, as if their body adamantly refused to forget the previous moment of contact. 

“Professor, how… What happened to you? Where have you been all these years?” The young blond practically demanded. He wasn’t quite so young anymore, though, was he?

“D… Dimitri, I—”

A chorus of shouts prevented Byleth from giving a proper answer, quickly drawing both theirs and Dimitri’s attention.

It sounded like people barking orders, but whoever it might’ve been, they were still far enough away that Byleth couldn’t make out exactly what was being said.

“Hmph. So the rats have finally come crawling out of the woodwork…” Dimitri mumbled under his breath, although it was still plenty loud enough for Byleth to hear. 

Something about his tone caused a chill to run down their spine. 

It was similar to the one he’d used earlier, when he had first spoken. So hateful and cold… but somehow, as contradictory as it seemed, there was the faintest hint of excitement mixed in as well. As if Dimitri was actually looking forward to a confrontation. 

His gaze, which had been aimed at the open doorway on the opposite side of the room, soon drifted back down to the smaller individual laying in his hand. 

The contemplative look in his eye was the closest thing to a warning Byleth got before he rose to his feet, taking them right along with him.

“Dimitri, wh… what are you doing?” they questioned. 

Trying not to panic was nearly impossible, especially when their former student didn’t answer them. He simply started walking toward the exit. 

The double doors were tall enough that all Dimitri had to do was duck down to fit through. 

“D-Dimitri?” they called again, their worry starting to become much more prominent.

“Hold on,” he stated curtly. 

At first, Byleth assumed that he was instructing them to wait a moment, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Not entirely, anyway. 

As he walked, Dimitri lifted Byleth even higher, bringing his hand up to his shoulder. 

Before the mint-haired mercenary had a chance to question such actions, they were unceremoniously shoved into the space between Dimitri’s neck and the collar of his cloak.

He’d meant _ literally _ hold on, which Byleth promptly did once the hand that had been carrying them retreated. Clinging tightly to the thick fur that was practically surrounding them, the last thing they wanted to do was risk falling a second time. 

Their first fall hadn’t done too much damage—hardly any at all—but Dimitri had been sitting instead of standing, and now Byleth was all the way up on his shoulder, too.

At this height… a couple broken bones would probably be the _ best _ possible outcome.

Distracted by such troubling thoughts, it took Byleth a moment to realize that the shouting from earlier had gotten louder and clearer. With Dimitri currently making his way outside, it wasn’t exactly hard to figure out why that was.

Just like it wasn’t exactly hard to figure out what he planned to do next.

Even so, Byleth couldn’t stop themself from asking, “Dimitri, you’re… You aren’t going to fight those bandits, are you?”

“‘Fight?’” he echoed with a brief, joyless chuckle. As he spoke, he didn’t even bother sparing so much as a glance Byleth’s way. “Hardly. I’m going to exterminate the vermin infesting the monastery.” 

Once again, the way he spoke left Byleth feeling more than a little uneasy. 

It also made them remember the Imperial soldiers currently laying dead on the bridge.

…And how painful Dimitri’s grip had been when he’d first grabbed them.

“Don’t do this, Dimitri. There’s no need to kill them,” Byleth insisted. “Just scare them off—they’ll run as soon as they see you.”

“And allow them to pillage and plunder elsewhere?” he countered. “No, I think not.” 

Well… Byleth couldn’t exactly argue with that, as much as they might want to. At the very least, Dimitri’s logic in _ that _ regard was sound. If those looters weren’t dealt with here and now, they would probably find some hapless village to raze later.

But while Byleth still tried to come up with _ some _ sort of response, Dimitri inevitably drew closer to his targets.

It wasn’t long before those shouts from earlier morphed into frantic screams. Byleth had been exactly right—the thieves started fleeing in terror as soon as they saw the giant lumbering toward them. 

Dimitri wasn’t about to let them escape so easily, though.

He moved with a swiftness that might’ve thrown Byleth off of their precarious perch, if not for the fact that they grasped the collar of his cloak even tighter. Their knuckles were white as snow with how desperately they clung to the furs.

“Dimitri please _ stop,” _they begged.

No response.

And not but a second later, his violent rampage would truly commence. 

More pleas soon joined Byleth’s own—panicked voices crying for mercy_ over and over and over _ again.

The young mercenary couldn’t decide which was worse; hearing those cries go unanswered, or hearing them silenced so abruptly. 

Or perhaps it was the fact that Byleth could do nothing to stop it. Dimitri wouldn’t listen to his former professor either, and it wasn’t as if they could _ force _him to. They were powerless. Totally and utterly powerless.

At that point, Byleth just wanted to cover their ears and block out all the horrible sounds that followed, but they couldn’t even do that. Not when their hands were busy trying to keep them from falling.

The only thing they could do was snap their eyes shut and silently pray that it would be over soon.

And all the while, they couldn’t help but wonder what had become of the gentle, caring boy they once knew. 

**Author's Note:**

> I know the ending is pretty rushed, but honestly this is about as good as it's gonna get x'D
> 
> I don't really plan on taking this any further, mostly because I don't have any solid ideas for where to go next and I also have other projects I'd like to work on instead. I hope you all enjoyed this little drabble though~ uwu
> 
> The artwork was done by my good friend miniature-knight, who you can find over on Tumblr!  
https://miniature-knight.tumblr.com/post/188342424082/


End file.
